steam technology

Steam technology harnesses the expansion of water vapor to perform mechanical work.

The basic principle—heating water in a boiler to create pressure that drives pistons or turbines—powered the Industrial Revolution and remained dominant until internal combustion and electric motors displaced it in most applications.

Steam engines drove factories, locomotives, and ships throughout the 19th century: The age of steam technology transformed manufacturing.

Steam turbines still generate most of the world's electricity, though the heat source may be coal, nuclear, or solar rather than wood or coal fires.